To Pique an Interest

Chapter 10: Harmless Flirting

Author's Note: As usual, as much as I hate to admit it, I only own the beautiful Lilly Hazel and other original characters mentioned.

P.S. In case you guys are wondering how the heck anyone would drop their phone through an elevator shaft, it happened to my aunt once. Just saying.

Adam was up bright and early the next morning. Slapping his hair back into a ponytail, he dressed himself in a wife beater and track pants, took a quick bite of a protein bar and slipped on his running shoes. It was time for his daily morning run.

He started out with a slow jog, gradually picking up a faster pace when the music blasting in his ears did the same. He was listening to a song by his good friend Chris Jericho's band, Fozzy, which so happened to be one of his favorite bands as well. He loved their music, and it wasn't just because the lead singer was one of his closest friends.

He smiled at the neighbors that greeted him with a cheery smile and wave, as he jogged past their houses. As he turned round the corner his thoughts reflected on the events that occurred three days ago. Adam couldn't help but let the dorky smile take over his lips, thinking about the beautiful redhead he spent the entire day with the day before.

Not only had everything been forgiven with things that once happened between them, but Adam had somehow acquired her as a new companion. Suddenly, all thoughts of permanently moving out of Toronto went flying out the window.

Coincidentally, just as the face of the lovely Lilly Hazel had occupied his mind, he'd caught sight of the real thing herself when he jogged through a small community park. Slouched back on a bench, was Lilly, her tousled crimson curls tied in a messy braid and a pair of oversized horn-rimmed spectacles perched on the bridge of her nose He smiled, watching her concentrated expression on her laptop screen, her green eyes glowing like jade from the backlight of the monitor. Deciding to surprise her, Adam slowly crept behind her and peered over her shoulder (she also had headphones on so she couldn't hear him either), raising his eyebrows in surprise when he noticed she was writing what appeared to be some sort of journal:

May 30th, 2009

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Haven't updated this for what feels like days. Finally, I get to make an update.

I've been back in my hometown of Toronto for a day now, and so far, a lot has been going on within that past day. Just three days ago I was at the mall when I ran into the very last person I expected there: Edge.

Yes, I'm talking about Edge, aka Adam Copeland. The same guy I've been crushing on since I was eleven. The same guy whom I mentioned in my last journal entry, the one who tried to seduce me after our first meeting at the bar after the pay-per-view.

But turns out he's not such a bad guy at all. In fact, he's nothing like his character at all. He's cute, funny, sweet, and sarcastic, and I do mean the good kind of sarcastic. Amazingly, after spending the past few days with him with him, having lunch, going shopping, and even working out in his gym, I can prove to all the bandwagon trolls that Adam is the best guy friend you could ever ask for, and to all the female fans who think he's a god. In real life, he's really…

"Did you really think I was oblivious to you standing behind me all this time?" Lilly's voice boomed in his head, snapping Adam out of his thoughts and giving him quite a fright.

Adam blinked twice before he found Lilly staring at him peculiarly with one eyebrow raised. Shyly, he couldn't seem to find an explanation for his attempt to sneak up on her. "I wanted to surprise you from behind, but I got a bit…er…distracted," stuttered Adam. Lilly chuckled softly.

"So I guess you've read everything I've been typing out on my journal?" chuckled Lilly softly, "no worries, I haven't gotten to the good parts yet." She closed her laptop shut before Adam could read the next line.

"Awww," Adam pretended to groan. He hopped over the bench and sat down next to Lilly, who giggled softly at his actions. "So what'cha doing out here typing away in the middle of a public park?" Adam inquired her, "won't you get distracted by all the dogs nipping at your heels and the little three-year-olds trying to see what you're doing?"

"Well, I wanted to get some fresh air," said Lilly, "plus I haven't been to this park in a while. I remember right in front of me, there used to be a playground where my parents would bring my sister and I to play in when we were kids."

"What happened to it?" asked Adam.

"It was thanks to some kid in the neighborhood who claimed that he'd broken his femur from a swing he alleged was faulty, and since they didn't have enough money to repair it, they just got rid of it altogether. It's stupid, really, but I still like to come here and sit on this bench, where my mom and dad would wait for us before bringing us home."

"That's cute," replied Adam, "but I've never heard you mention a sister at all in the past few days."

"That's because I never liked her."

"Why not?"

"She always made me feel like I was no good," explained Lilly, "she was three years younger than me so she and I always fought. We basically fought about everything, but I was the one who got in trouble because she'd put all the blame on me and my parents would scold me since I was the older child. Not to mention she was the one everyone praised whenever family and friends came over for Christmas and Thanksgiving. Some life, I had, huh?" Her voice grew shakier, "Everyone said she was prettier than me, smarter than me, just better than me at everything. And guess what? While I'm here in Toronto waiting to get my bachelor's in architecture and making money off of band gigs and French tutoring, she's married to some hockey player in the NHL and living the life of a trophy wife, hosting parties and buying all the stuff she made off of her husband."

It's no wonder she's so critical of herself, thought Adam, the poor girl always getting overshadowed by her little sister.

"Hey," Adam said softly, wrapping his arms around her as he let the redhead bury her face in his shoulder and calm down, "don't think your life isn't perfect because of her, Lil. I've got friends who are like that and they're not the happiest people in the world. You, on the other hand, are living the life that everyone should live. You're a work horse, Lil; you showed me your sketches and drawings for your degree, and I remember having to work odd jobs at your age just to make a living until I joined the wrestling business. Everyone goes through this phase, Lilly."

"Yeah, I know," mumbled Lilly, "it's so frustrating, though."

"Don't worry," assured Adam, "maybe you could join the WWE and be a Diva," he suggested.

"Nah, I'm too ugly and fat," said Lilly immediately, though she couldn't hide the creeping blush on her slightly freckled skin.

Adam completely disagreed with this. Her 5'6'' frame was slender and willowy, and hell he wanted to punch her in the face for daring to call herself ugly. She was far from hideous in his eyes; her loose, crimson curls and jade green eyes said the opposite.

"Don't say that, Lil, I think you're fine just the way you are," he assured her, though she shook her head again.

"You don't have to be nice, Adam," said Lilly humbly, "I mean, we've only known each other for a few days…"

"It doesn't matter how long we've been friends, Lilly, I just want to let you know that you shouldn't be so self-critical," said Adam, "and by the way, in case you forgot, I'm the Rated R Superstar," he whispered in her ear with a smirk.

In the past three days, Lilly had entirely forgotten that Adam was a world famous WWE Superstar. Because she had been used to being around him so casually, she'd completely disregarded the fact that thousands of women across the world could be watching her with seething green eyes of jealousy and disdain. But despite being a huge fan of wrestling, Lilly was surprised at how she'd managed to score a friendship with Adam Copeland and not squeal it to the rest of the world to hear.

"These past three days didn't feel like I was hanging out with a WWE Superstar, though," admitted Lilly.

"That's because I'm a normal, everyday person, just like you," said Adam, "hey, how about you join me for lunch later? I'm actually meeting up with Jase, Randy, and some of the other boys."

Lilly's inner fan girl had suddenly come back. "You mean Christian, Randy Orton, and other WWE Superstars?" she asked excitedly.

"Yup," Adam chuckled at Lilly's excitement, "but don't get too excited or I may un-invite you to the meet and greet."

"I'll just see them as regular people," giggled Lilly. But even later that day, as she saw Randy Orton, Jason 'Christian' Reso, John Cena, and Trish Stratus seated at a table waiting for them, she couldn't help but let out a squeal of excitement.

"You sure she's not some random fan girl you picked up, Ad?" Randy chuckled in a deep, sexy voice that made every single nerve in Lilly's body freeze. No wonder Laurel was crazy for the tattooed Viper; his piercing blue eyes, his massive, muscled arms covered in a network of tattoos, and his deep, sexy drawl was utterly irresistible. Lilly found herself rambling as she introduced herself to all four Superstars whose eyes were on her.

"Nope, her name's Lilly, remember?" Adam reminded him.

"So you're the girl whom my boy's been talking about since Backlash," said Jason, or as he preferred to be referred as, Jay, "it's great to meet you, Lilly."

"You're the girl Adam bought that drink for," said John Cena, instantly recognizing her as the girl at the club back in Providence. He was with Adam's group at the time Adam and Lilly first met, "I don't blame him, though. You're a pretty girl, after all." Although Lilly resented his family-friendly gimmick, she couldn't help but admit that John was a sweetheart in person.

"I absolutely love your sense of fashion, Lilly," said Trish. The last time Lilly remembered, Trish was a blonde, but her trademark tresses were now dyed a rich chocolate brown, "I especially love your hair." Her hazel eyes traced over the way Lilly's blazing red waves were loosely braided to the side and secured with a black bow. She also examined the oversized Slipknot shirt and military green capris with a pair of sneakers.

Lilly was flattered, "Thanks, Trish."

"Not at all, sweetheart," said Trish, "it doesn't happen every day that Adam talks about a fan girl for more than thirty seconds and then brings her to have lunch with us."

"Oh yeah, you can ask him about the thousands of girls he's charmed before you," joked Cena.

"Well he is the Rated-R Superstar," Lilly pointed out.

"Makes sense to me," said Randy with a shrug. He nudged Adam eagerly, "Dude, where do you find chicks like these? All I get are screaming housewives and hormone-crazed teenaged girls."

"Gee, I wonder why," Lilly said flirtatiously, as she eyed Randy's tattoos with interest. Randy noticed this and rolled up his sleeves proudly, which made Adam roll his eyes sarcastically. Even for a loving husband and a devoted father, Randy was still part lady-killer.

After a while, Adam suddenly stood up from his table and announced he and Lilly needed to head off, pulling a confused and disappointed Lilly away from the table of famous WWE Superstars.

"It was great to meet you, Lilly," said Trish sweetly, giving Lilly a warm hug. Cena and Jay followed, and at that very moment, Lilly had the sudden urge to scream to the world about how she'd gotten hugs from Trish Stratus, John Cena, and Christian.

But perhaps what gave her the most chills was when Randy said goodbye to her.

"It was a pleasure to meet the beautiful, lovely Lilly," he cooed flirtatiously to the giggling redhead, taking her hand in his and prolonging a kiss to the back of her hand. He winked at her before releasing her hand. Even as Adam's arm wrapped protectively around her waist, Lilly couldn't help but turn her head back to see Randy smirking at her cheekily with that signature sexy smirk of his, guaranteed to make Laurel's (and now hers) panties drop within a heartbeat.

"What's up with you?" Lilly inquired Adam curiously, as they headed towards the supermarket to pick up a few groceries.

Adam murmured something under his breath that was incoherent.

"What did you say?" Lilly asked.

"Lilly, I'm sorry about Randy…" Adam began.

"Why?" Lilly was puzzled.

"I just…well…as you know, Randy is a notorious ladies' man…"

"I'm quite aware of that," Lilly couldn't help but blush, knowing how successful the Legend Killer had been in his lady-killer quest, "but why does it affect you?"

Again, Adam muttered something else that was inaudible.

"Adam, you can tell me," persuaded Lilly, tip-toeing to reach a packet of potato chips from the shelf.

"I don't like the way he was flirting with you," he managed to cough, his hand gripping the shopping basket into a fist.

"Adam, I was just playing along," assured Lilly, "okay sure, he managed to charm me with a few pick-up lines, but he's married and he has a kid. I'm not interested in a married man, no matter how good-looking he is. And besides," Lilly decided to play with her words for a bit, making her voice slightly lower and more seductive, "he doesn't have the long, blond hair that drove me wild for eleven years."

Now it was Adam's turn to hide his blush. This girl's cheekiness was just absolutely irresistible. She knew how to push his buttons, but at the same time, she knew every single exact compliment that brought out the Rated-R sleaze he played on television.

"Y'know, you're just irritating me right now," Adam looked at her peculiarly, but his heart skipped at the way her green eyes twinkled at him.

"You do realize I'm telling the truth, you know," she remarked, grabbing (to his amazement) three packets of the same beef jerky he craved for during his off-days. She walked ahead of him with her head held up high, strutting down the aisle in her sneakers. Letting out a low whistle, Adam followed her, as though being pulled by an invisible rope.